More Than Expected (3)
The person who entered was Jeok Byeongcheol, the Pavilion Master of the Breeze Pavilion.
"Pavilion Master Jeok, you've arrived."
"So, Young Master arrived first. But where is Chief of Internal Affairs Yoo?"
"Ah! He had something urgent to take care of and told me to go on ahead. He'll be here soon."
"I see."
The Eunwol Pavilion was a meeting room where various matters of the merchant group were discussed.
In truth, I hadn't officially earned the position of Vice-Leader of the Merchant Group yet, so unless there was a special reason, I couldn't normally attend these meetings.
But today, I had the right to be here.
The topic of today's meeting was the commercialization of the Self-Dancing Doll, and I was the employer of the artisan who could make that doll.
"Please, take a seat."
"Yes."
I sat down, and a silence fell.
That awkward silence was broken by Pavilion Master Jeok calling me.
"Young Master."
"Yes."
"There's something I didn't get to ask before. May I ask you one thing?"
I nodded at the question.
"Yes, go ahead."
"I understand you signed a contract with the artisan as a private employer for the Self-Dancing Doll. Why did you do that?"
I had glossed over it, but it seems Pavilion Master Jeok was still curious about that point.
"Was I not supposed to?"
"It's not that... I was simply curious. Normally, contracts are signed under the name of the Merchant Group, so I wanted to know why you signed one personally."
I looked into Pavilion Master Jeok's eyes.
He had silently done the work assigned to him for many years and was a pillar of our merchant group.
But truthfully, from my perspective, the scariest person was Pavilion Master Jeok.
His insight was among the sharpest in the group.
Excuses like "I signed it quickly before someone else took him" wouldn't work on him.
He was someone who had devoted his entire life to the merchant group.
So I decided to show him my true intentions.
"Pavilion Master Jeok, let me ask you something. Whose money is the Eunhae Merchant Group's money?"
"Well..."
As he was about to answer, Pavilion Master Jeok paused.
It was natural.
The answer to whose money the Eunhae Merchant Group's money truly was... wasn't simple.
My father was the Merchant Group Leader, and our family had led the merchant group for generations, but that didn't mean all of the group's funds were solely my father's.
I continued.
"But one thing is certain. That is, I have no money of my own."
"My, it seems you're more ambitious than I thought, Young Master."
Pavilion Master Jeok understood the meaning behind my words.
"So, do you intend to continue doing things this way?"
In other words, he was asking whether I planned to keep making personal gains like this.
"Yes, I do."
"I see. But why go to such lengths? Surely you're not short on resources."
He was right.
I received a generous allowance every month.
"It's for the Eunhae Merchant Group."
I grinned.
"I plan to make the Eunhae Merchant Group the greatest in all the land."
At my words, Pavilion Master Jeok paused for a moment, then laughed heartily.
"What a grand ambition."
"Of course, I still have a long way to go. Does that answer your question?"
"More than enough."
Pavilion Master Jeok continued.
"In return for answering this old man's difficult question, I shall answer one of yours someday as well."
"...!"
At those words, I was surprised on the inside.
What shocked me was that Pavilion Master Jeok's promise to answer one question was no small thing.
He was the head of all employees in the Eunhae Merchant Group.
For someone like him to promise to answer one of my questions was no trivial matter.
Knowing the weight of that, I quickly performed a polite salute.
"I'll humbly accept."
Pavilion Master Jeok nodded at my gesture.
Soon, my father and other key figures entered the Eunwol Pavilion, and the meeting began.
Father had just returned from the provincial capital of Hubei.
He had met with the Chief Inspector.
Thanks to the Self-Dancing Doll, the Chief Inspector's wife had become the center of attention at her gathering.
The Chief Inspector was able to maintain face with his wife.
Song Jangju, who had offered the Self-Dancing Doll as a tribute, managed to win the Chief Inspector's favor.
Of course, the land that had been omitted still needed to be corrected.
But he would no longer fall to ruin and become a mere noble in name only.
Additionally, we were now able to trade rice with Song Jangju under better terms.
On top of that, we were about to earn a massive profit from selling the Self-Dancing Dolls.
It was a happy outcome for everyone.
Except for the Jingyeon Merchant Group.
The Chief Inspector expressed his wish to meet Father, and he had just returned from the provincial capital of Hubei after meeting him.
Judging by Father's expression, things seemed to have gone well.
"The business in the capital went smoothly. The Chief Inspector has agreed to cooperate with our merchant group."
In other words, we had secured the Chief Inspector's support, so everyone's faces brightened.
"First, the Chief Inspector asked if we could present ten Self-Dancing Dolls as gifts. Can that be done by the end of this month?"
To Father's question, I nodded.
"Yes, it's possible. He must be thinking of giving them as Lunar New Year gifts."
"Exactly. We also plan to launch the Self-Dancing Dolls publicly in about two months. That way, rumors will have time to spread. Will that be possible?"
That much was easily doable.
Of course, I had no intention of overworking the artisans. Still, I could manage it because I planned to apply a method I had thought up in my previous life.
To Father's question, I nodded.
"It's possible, as long as a few conditions are met."
"Conditions?"
"First of all, I don't intend to leave all doll production to the artisan."
"What do you mean?"
"To be honest, when it comes purely to doll-making, there are artisans with more skilled hands than the one I hired."
Everyone nodded at that.
There were artisans who could make dolls so lifelike they seemed to breathe, and others who could design and craft exquisite clothing for the dolls.
"Getting help from such artisans will make the Self-Dancing Dolls more beautiful and faster to produce."
Pavilion Master Yeon nodded at my words.
"That certainly makes sense."
Then, Chief of Internal Affairs Yoo raised an objection.
"But wouldn't that risk the doll-making techniques being leaked?"
Everyone else nodded in concern at that.
"Young Master previously said replication was impossible. But if we proceed this way, isn't it no different from revealing the techniques?"
"You could think of it that way. But I can confidently say the dolls still cannot be replicated."
I continued.
"Because the core of the Self-Dancing Doll lies in how the gears are operated, and only the artisan knows how to make those components. Even when I looked at them, I couldn't understand them."
That was precisely why the Self-Dancing Doll couldn't be replicated.
"So, I believe it's fine for other artisans to handle the doll's appearance, while the artisan only focuses on the core."
At my words, Father nodded.
"If you, the artisan's employer, say so, then it must be true. What kind of support do you need from me, then?"
"I'll need a workshop and materials for doll production."
"Understood."
The biggest reason the artisan died of overwork in my past life was because he had taken on the entire burden of making the dolls.
The artisan was only ten years old.
Though highly skilled, he was still a child, and I didn't want to overwork him.
It was an age where he should be playing more.
That's how it should be.
"Well then, let's now discuss the sale of the dolls. Where do you think would be a good place to sell them?"
"How about the trinket shops? Most people who buy dolls are women who visit such shops, after all."
"Craft stores might also be a good option."
"Fabric stores might work too."
Many opinions were raised, but the answer I was looking for had not yet come out.
"Father, may I also give my opinion?"
"I allow it."
At my father's permission, I organized my thoughts and spoke.
"Father, and Pavilion Masters, there's one thing you're all overlooking. It's that the Self-Dancing Doll is not a one-off product."
"Not a one-off?"
"Don't tell me… there's something more?"
I grinned.
"What I'll release is a secret, but yes, that's right. So I would like to request the opening of a dedicated shop."
At my words, Father thought for a moment, then nodded.
"If there are more items like the Self-Dancing Doll, then opening a shop makes sense. But the cost of opening a store isn't small."
"I know that. But this is for the benefit of the merchant group as well. If the dolls, supported by the Chief Inspector, are handled alongside other items in a non-dedicated store, wouldn't he feel slighted?"
"Ah!"
Only then did everyone look as if they had realized something.
"My, if not for Young Master, we would've made a big mistake."
For officials, honor and power were important, but just as important was face.
He was the Chief Inspector overseeing an entire province.
If we feared the consequences, we had to avoid hurting his pride.
And the more powerful someone is, the pettier they can be over seemingly trivial matters.
Of course, not everyone is like that, but there's no harm in being careful.
"In that case, as Seoho said, we must open a separate store, even if it's small."
"Understood. I'll begin preparations to open a separate store."
"And how many Self-Dancing Dolls do you plan to produce this time?"
"The more, the better, don't you think?"
At those words, I responded firmly.
"No, Father. We must make only one thousand Self-Dancing Dolls."
"What? Only a thousand?"
"Yes."
"You rascal! Do you think you'll make any profit selling just a thousand?"
"Please, let me finish."
At my calm demeanor, Father settled his emotions.
"Alright, go on."
"Father. Why are jewels like pearls or jade so expensive? When they're really just part of a shell, or a green rock."
"Well, many desire them, but their quantity is limited, so… Ah!"
Father's eyes widened.
Not only Father, but everyone in the Eunwol Pavilion now looked at me with widened eyes, as if they had realized something.
"Yes, exactly. Scarcity."
I grinned.
"I want to add that sense of scarcity to the Self-Dancing Dolls through limited sales. There are many wealthy people in the world who love to flaunt rare items."
However, in my past life, the Jingyeon Merchant Group didn't consider that, and focused only on mass production and mass sales.
At the time, a Self-Dancing Doll cost just half a silver nyang.
So people could easily buy one.
Half a silver nyang was an amount even commoners could save up in a couple of months.
As a result, the Self-Dancing Doll fad faded quickly.
People got bored of them fast.
So the artisan had to constantly and restlessly come up with new things.
I felt sorry watching that.
I pitied the overworked artisan, and it also pained me to see such a fine creation wasted as a one-time trend.
If it were me, I would've used the Self-Dancing Doll in a more varied way and earned far greater profits.
At my words, Pavilion Master Yeon gave a faint chuckle.
"You're exactly right, Young Master. There are plenty of people in this world with more money than they know what to do with. So, how much should we sell the Self-Dancing Doll for?"
To that question, Father and I answered at the same time.
"Ten silver nyang."
"…!"
Father and I looked at each other and smiled.
"If you want to satisfy people's desire to show off, nothing works better than a high price."
"Exactly."
Just then, Chief of External Affairs Go spoke up.
"But still, what a shame. These dolls are so well made, and yet they'll be just a seasonal item?"
At his words, I smiled faintly, and noticing that, Father narrowed his eyes.
"You rascal, there's more, isn't there!"
"There is."
"What is it? Out with it!"
Urged by Father, I explained my plan.
"This continues from my earlier comment about releasing other products, but I plan to give the Self-Dancing Dolls stories."
"Stories?"
"Yes. For example, dolls that contain the story of Heo Seon and Baek Sojeong the white snake demon, or the story of Yang Sanbaek and Chuk Yeong."
"Oh…"
"In that case, would someone who bought a doll with the story of Heo Seon and Baek Sojeong be content with just that one?"